Welcome to the 10 minute breathing practice.
This is all about simply paying attention to what it is like to sit here breathing.
So begin by making sure that you're sitting in a comfortable position that you can maintain without difficulty for a few minutes.
Feeling your feet flat on the floor grounded and feeling yourself supported by whatever you're sitting on.
Sitting upright purposeful but not to a tension,
Not rigid allowing the shoulders and the neck to soften.
Resting your hands somewhere neutral on the knees or in the lap so you don't have to do any work or any thinking to keep them in that position.
Just beginning by shifting your attention to your breath.
Noticing the sensations that tell you about your breathing happening.
Where is it that you most obviously feel the breath coming in and going out?
Taking some time just to zero in on wherever that sensation is happening.
Just observing the breath for a while as it comes in and goes out.
You can let go of any expectations from this exercise.
You're not trying actively to change anything.
You're not trying to breathe in some better way.
You're not trying to breathe more deeply or more slowly.
Nor are you trying to change the way you feel or experience what's happening now.
You're simply an observer allowing the breath to fall into its own natural rhythm.
So just doing that is watching the breath wherever you can feel it happening as it comes in and goes out.
That might be in the nose,
Nostrils,
The head.
Or for you it may be in the chest,
Rib cage and the back.
Feeling them expanding as the breath comes in.
Falling back as the breath goes out.
Or it might be right down in the abdomen.
Just feeling the belly expanding as the breath comes all the way down and then travels all the way back up again.
Simply observing those sensations.
Inevitably distractions will arise.
Thoughts,
Sensations,
Emotions.
Thoughts about what you're doing right now,
How you're doing it.
Or completely new thoughts and experiences which arise to fill the space that you're creating.
And when that happens we're not trying to stop them,
Prevent them.
We're not trying to push them away or erase them.
Just accept and acknowledge that something has arisen.
Be pleased to have noticed.
This is the work,
This is the practice.
Noticing whatever arises as it happens.
And then very gently,
Without any criticism or irritation,
Just bringing your attention back,
Letting go of the distraction.
Bringing your attention back to the sensation of the breath.
Doing that each time that you notice a distraction.
Just spending a minute or so now.
Doing that in silence.
Observing the breath and observing whatever else arises.
As we sit in this way,
We can become aware of tension or discomfort or agitation anywhere in the body.
And it's okay to allow this to soften.
Again,
Not trying,
Not trying to change anything,
Banish anything.
But on each in-breath,
Just scanning and noticing where there may be some discomfort or agitation.
And then on the next out-breath,
Allowing the breath to carry that away or to soften it.
On the next in-breath,
Scanning and noticing the same or different tension,
Stiffness.
And on the next out-breath again,
Just allowing that to be softened and carried away.
Observing a natural process,
Not trying to make anything happen.
And again,
The mind will naturally wander.
New types of thoughts,
Experiences,
Sensations arising.
And as before,
Just meeting these with acknowledgement,
Curiosity,
Accepting them,
Observing them,
And then very gently bringing awareness back to the sensations of your breathing.
Jai Finanz]:ci.
And then taking the attention that's been focused on your breath and allowing that attention to expand.
Taking in first the rest of the body.
That awareness again of your feet flat on the floor,
Resistance to the floor pushing back against the feet,
Your weight in the chair and then expanding further into the room around you,
The sounds around you,
The temperature of the room,
The temperature of the air on your skin and the light in the room.
In your own time just raising your gaze,
Opening your eyes and letting go of the practice.
